Dodgers place Carlos Frias on disabled list with a stiff back

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The Dodgers placed pitcher Carlos Frias on the 15-day disabled list with a sore back, further depleting a starting staff that has already lost starters Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy for the season. (Photo by John McCoy Daily News)

The Dodgers’ starting rotation took another hit Sunday morning when right-hander Carlos Frias was placed on the disabled list with a sore back.

Frias said he first began experiencing tightness in San Francisco. He had grabbed his back during his following start at Chicago and was tended to by the training staff, but pitched through it and also pitched in Arizona.

The Dodgers decided to shut him down until after the All-Star break.

“It doesn’t hurt me other than when I’m on the mound trying to throw really hard,” Frias said in Spanish. “It didn’t start as anything that was painful. It was bothering me and uncomfortable, but the doctor advised me the more I kept pitching with the discomfort, the worse it was going to get.

“They said if I shut down now, I should be good to come back after the break.”

The Dodgers recalled left-handed reliever Daniel Coulombe, who joked that he is close to earning a free flight with his frequent traveling. In five previous stints with the Dodgers this season, he has allowed six runs in 6 2/3 innings in four relief appearances. He has seven strikeouts and has held opponents to a .240 batting average.

But Frias’ injury could be a red flag for a rotation that has already lost starters Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy to season-ending injuries.

But Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he is confident it is an injury that can be resolved rather quickly, even adding that the team thought Frias had a good chance of returning for his following start but that the team did not want to take that chance.

“I’m not that concerned because it was not anything structurally,” Mattingly said. “It wasn’t a disc or a problem with his back. More of a tight muscle. It had gotten a lot better, but not to a point where he could just throw.

“Our main thing is that we didn’t want him to change anything (in his mechanics) that could end up hurting his arm.”

Frias — who is 5-5 with a 4.39 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) — was scheduled to pitch Monday.

Mattingly, per his M.O., was keeping the replacement starter close to his vest. It turned into a twisted game of 20 questions.

“We can go down the whole list, but I’m not going to tell you,” Mattingly said.

Mattingly had narrowed it down to someone who could throw 90-100 pitches, likely ruling out relievers or a Juan Nicasio-started bullpen game.

Mattingly said after the game that Eric Surkamp — a former left-hander for the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox — would be called up on Monday, but refused to confirm him as the starter. Coulombe would likely be sent down in the corresponding move.

It was also unlikely that the same pitcher Monday would get the follow-up Saturday start.

“You know how we use our roster and we try to use that spot,” Mattingly said. “Nothing’s safe.”

Joc moves down to No. 7 spot

Mattingly shook up his batting order on Sunday, moving rookie Joc Pederson down to the No. 7 spot and leading off with Kike Hernandez with the Mets starting rookie left-hander Steven Matz.

Mattingly said he did not anticipate this to be a permanent move.

“It was more the dynamic of today’s lineup,” Mattingly said. “We’ve been talking about doing it against the lefties, about doing something different.

“For a while, we had Yasiel (Puig) up there, but we wanted to put Yasiel more in the middle part of the order. So this is what we’ve done today.”

Hernandez led off the game with a single — one of the Dodgers’ three hits Sunday — and finished 1 for 4. Pederson went 0 for 3 with one strikeout.

Around the horn

Carl Crawford was put into the No. 2 slot as the designated hitter in his first game of rehab for Triple-A Oklahoma City. … The Dodgers recently signed non-drafted free agent catcher Garrett Hope, who was a two-sport standout at the West Virginia University. He also was a fullback for the football team. … Mattingly said top Cuban signee Hector Olivera began “running the curve” in his recovery from a hamstring injury, but that no timetable for his return has been set and that he was not sure how far this injury will set back Olivera’s bid to join the major-league club. … Mattingly said reliever Chris Hatcher has not started throwing and remains in the strength-building aspect of his recovery.